Carnitas Tacos with Homemade Tortillas

Name: Carnitas Tacos with Homemade Tortillas
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 180 min
Yield: 6 portions
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1½ kg · 3¼ lb pork shoulder, in large chunks; 200 g · 1 cup lard or neutral oil; 200 g · 1 orange orange, juice and squeezed halves; 150 g · 1 onion onion, halved; 24 g · 6 cloves garlic; 2 g · 1 tsp dried oregano; 2 g · 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 g · 2 leaves bay leaves; 15 g · 1 tbsp salt; 250 g · 2 cups masa harina, for the tortillas; 330 ml · 1¼ cups warm water, for the tortillas; 100 g · 1 cup white onion and cilantro, chopped, to serve; 130 g · 2 limes limes, to serve; 150 g · ¾ cup salsa verde, to serve

🍽 Serves 6⏱ Prep 30 min🔥 Cook 180 min🌍 Mexican

Pork shoulder slowly confited with orange, garlic and spices, then crisped and served in fresh corn tortillas.

📍 Michoacán · Mexico

The story of the dish

Carnitas come from Michoacán, where pork is cooked in big copper cazos of lard; the town of Quiroga is famous for them.

The name: Carnitas means 'little meats' in Spanish.

Ingredients

Ingredient	EUg · ml	UScups · spoons
pork shoulder in large chunks	≈ 1½ kg	≈ 3¼ lb
lard or neutral oil	≈ 200 g	≈ 1 cup
orange juice and squeezed halves	≈ 200 g	≈ 1 orange
onion halved	≈ 150 g	≈ 1 onion
garlic	≈ 24 g	≈ 6 cloves
dried oregano	≈ 2 g	≈ 1 tsp
ground cumin	≈ 2 g	≈ 1 tsp
bay leaves	≈ 1 g	≈ 2 leaves
salt	≈ 15 g	≈ 1 tbsp
masa harina for the tortillas	≈ 250 g	≈ 2 cups
warm water for the tortillas	≈ 330 ml	≈ 1¼ cups
white onion and cilantro chopped, to serve	≈ 100 g	≈ 1 cup
limes to serve	≈ 130 g	≈ 2 limes
salsa verde to serve	≈ 150 g	≈ ¾ cup

≈ amount suggested from similar recipes

Tools & equipment

Item	UAEamazon.ae	USamazon.com
Tortilla Press	🛒 Buy	🛒 Buy
Tortilla Warmer (Tortillero)	🛒 Buy	🛒 Buy
Kitchen Scale	🛒 Buy	🛒 Buy
Royalford 27cm Aluminium Smart Tawa - Non-Sti	🛒 Buy	🛒 Buy
Pressure Cooker	🛒 Buy	🛒 Buy
Masienda Heirloom Yellow Corn Masa Harina/Flo	🛒 Buy	🛒 Buy

Also used: Dutch oven · comal or cast-iron pan · tongs

Method

Season the pork with salt, oregano and cumin.
Put it in a heavy pot with the lard, orange juice and halves, onion, garlic and bay leaves.
Cook covered at a gentle simmer for 2.5 hours until very tender.
Uncover and raise the heat so the pork fries in its fat until golden and crisp.
Mix masa harina with warm water and a pinch of salt; rest 15 minutes.
Press small balls into tortillas and cook on a hot comal about 1 minute per side.
Shred the pork and serve in the tortillas with onion, cilantro, lime and salsa.

👨‍🍳 Chef’s tips

Let the pork fry undisturbed at the end so the edges get crisp.

📱 Scan to watch me cook ityoutu.be/zvWDhXTSEscEvery step on video, and new recipes every week: subscribe on YouTube.

Nutrition per portion estimate · 1 of 6

640kcal

40 gprotein

38 gcarbs

36 gfat

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▶ Watch me cook it: youtu.be/zvWDhXTSEsc

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